Losing Control
by SwordxPen
Summary: Nearly a year after the war the Mist is starting to fail, leaving monsters unhidden and more bloodthirsty than ever, demigods losing the protection it offered, and mortals waking up to the world around them. On top of being the key role in the end of the world, Percy's powers have been growing rapidly since his time in Tartarus, and now he's afraid he's slowly losing control...
1. The Beginning of the End

_Author's note: This story will be mainly exploring two things that have greatly interested me._

_ A) What would happen if the mortals realized the greek gods were alive and thriving, demigods were living among them, and wars have passed right under their noses?_

_ B) How powerful has Percy really gotten, how powerful can he be, and what all can his powers extend to?_

_This will be a multi-chapter fic and will stick to canon pairings. Constructive criticism is always welcome. R &amp; R_

* * *

The end of the world, Percy decides, always starts with a field trip.

He's not sure why the early presentiments always seem to arise while surrounded by another thirty-some mortal delinquents, but, for whatever inane reason, it does. The gods knew he never had a good rep with these school outings in the first place, but this beginning of the end field trip predicament was honestly getting a bit old.

He knew it would be too much to hope for - one smooth going, uneventful, and, most importantly, _mortal_ field trip to go uninterrupted. He assumed the four hour bus drive to Maine was certainly long enough to shake off any monsters trailing him from New York, despite how potent his smell may be. Not to mention that Paul was the only chaperone, and Percy was fairly positive that his step-father would not explode into a Fury trying to kill him. And just about the most exciting thing going on in Maine was cold weather so honestly, what was the worse that could happen?

They didn't make it two hours past the state line before things went horribly wrong.

Percy was tapping an erratic beat on his leg with his pen, the vapid chatter of the other two dozen students all but a dull buzz in his ear. He was trying to distract himself from the jittery prickles that had been tingling under his skin for the past half hour, an anxious feeling that constricted his airways and compressed his chest. He sucked in a deep breath but it didn't hold any relief so he settled to looking out the windows for the umpteenth time.

Maine was one of the gloomiest states Percy had been to. There was a constant cold in the air, tagged along with a dreary drizzle of rain and grey cloudless skies that reminded him a bit of the undertones of Annabeth's steel eyes, but they lacked the swirling shades of thunderstorms and overall ferocity in hers. The most vaguely interesting thing he had seen was a cow about thirty miles back.

Overall, a field trip he really should have passed on.

Snide laughter caught his ear over the quiet chatter of the bus, and his eyes narrowed on two girls sitting in the adjacent isle.

"Oops, I'm so sorry, Susan, it was a complete accident, swear." Haley Labelle was all innocence and pretty smiles as her manicured hands reached around the seat in front of her and fluttered apologetically in the air surrounding Susan Miller's distress. A large brown stain ran from the nape of the latter girl's neck and down the back of her white collared shirt, her back arching as if she could cringe away from the wet stickiness.

Susan Miller was a small slip of a girl with dark hair and wide glasses. She was generally ignored by most of the high school population but genuinely nice, if not a bit shy, based from the few conversations Percy had shared with her. Haley Labelle on the other hand, was pretty much the exact opposite.

Percy raised a skeptic eyebrow at the still half-full coffee container sitting in between Haley's legs - It would have to take a talent worthy of him to somehow accidentally spill something all the way up and over the seat ahead of you, considering you would have to stand up if you wanted to even reach the back of the seat in the first place.

"Shame you don't have a change of clothes with you." Haley flipped her blonde curls in mock distress. "Guess you'll just have to walk around all day like-"

The container exploded.

The lid shot off the ceiling and clattered to the ground as coffee spewed all over Haley in a manner similar to a geyser, the brunt of it catching her full force in the face before running down the front her uniform. Heads turned and chattered died as she sputtered in shock, coffee dripping from the ringlets crowning her face and mascara running in thick lines down her cheeks, creating the image of a waterlogged raccoon.

Percy unfurled his fingers and turned his head toward the window, biting his lip to keep the grin of his face.

"What the-"

"Dude, did you see that?"

"How the hell did that-"

_"Percy."_

Paul's voice was a quiet warning and his step-father gave a near imperceptible shake of his head from the front of the bus, both easily missed by the other students. In return, Percy held up his hands in a gesture that clearly said _'Dude, don't look at me, I'm just as confused as you are.'_

Paul just sighed.

Percy knew Paul was going to get him for that later, but the notion of punishment was rapidly being forgotten as another matter came to the forefront of his mind.

His hands were starting to tremble, pins and needles jittering beneath his skin like angry ants, growing stronger than before, unable to be ignored with the slip of his concentration. He tucked his hands beneath his arms to quell his rapidly growing panic. _Not now, not now, please not now. _

But his mind was already becoming too aware, too awake, too perceptive, his body beginning to feel it all. The trickle of rain outside of the window was both clarifying and rousing, like a winding stream smoothing the harsh edges of rocks. Behind the mask of the light gray sky were the thunderstorms swirling, angry and aching to pour down.

Then came the nature, water enriching the damp soil for hundreds of miles far beyond the horizon and spreading it's life into the veins of foliage, giving them an energetic dance of their own. There was a river fifty miles west.

_Stop._

The range grew, a circle being filled in from its edges inward.

Next were the mechanics, the maze of pipe works with an impure mixture racing deep bellow the the road, oil and gas being pumped and steamed and churned within the box on wheels. The next nearest car was about seventy miles away.

_No._

Percy pressed his palms to his ears, clenching his eyes shut, in a desperate last-resort to stop what would happen next. But he knew that even if he blocked his audition and vision, the _feeling_ could not be ignored.

_Stop. Stop. Stop-_

And then Percy was unceremoniously slammed into the seat ahead of him.

The bus came to a screeching halt, the students around him letting out surprised grunts of pain as it skidded across the asphalt. His instincts kicked in as the vehicle swiveled, his palms bracing the back of the dark rubber like plastic of the seats and his foot slamming down on his pen rolling on the floor just before it disappeared underneath the rows ahead of him. The bus shuddered as the momentum died, teetering towards the front wheels and slanting the occupants in a downward position.

There was a moment of confused silence, where everyone seemed unsure of what happened or how to proceed and then Percy spurred into action.

He swooped an arm down, snatching his pen from beneath his foot, while pushing himself of the slanted seat with the other. He strode down the inclined isle, gripping the edges of seats to keep his balance as he made his way to the door, his actions flowing into one seamless movement.

"Percy." Paul awkwardly beckoned to him from his wedged position between the floor of the front right seat and railing of the stairs. Percy gripped the older man's right arm and hauled him to his feet, his stepfather stumbling as he gained his bearings.

Percy turned briefly to check on the bus driver who seemed to be bearing the accident surprisingly well, if not a bit confused, despite his old age. His knobby fingers fumbled with the buckle of his seat belt as he struggled to get out of his seat. "Two flat tires? How in the world… must of hit some glass…"

"Is everyone alright?"

Paul's question was met with groans of affirmation, students grappling with the back of the seats as they hauled themselves into upright positions. His step father nodded and rose his hand in a soothing gesture. "Everyone just try to stay calm for the moment's notice, everything will be fine."

Paul swiveled back to Percy and lowered his voice in a panicked manner that told everything was definitely _not_ fine. "Is it…" Paul adjusted his glasses, "Is it _godly_ business?"

Percy shrugged uncertainly. "Maybe, it might just be flat tires, but…"

"But probably not?"

Percy grinned. "Be right back."

Percy tugged on the lever that opened the doors, ignoring the outraged cry of the bus driver, and was greeted by a blast of cool wind as they parted, sweeping his hair back, sending goosebumps racing up his arms, and filling his senses with the clearing scent of fresh nature after an April shower. The bus had veered halfway onto the grass bordering the right side the road when the tires burst, the doors facing the broad expanse of forest that ran about six feet away from the lane.

Percy uncapped Riptide as he stepped onto the grass, tightening his grip on the hilt of the glowing bronze sword as the light rain misted over his face.

The front two tires were gone. Not flat or punctured, not in pieces of shredded rubber scattered several yards down the road, but completely missing, as if they had never been there, only trashed metal disks remaining in place. Percy's scowled as his suspicions were confirmed.

He hefted Riptide in a defensive position, the blade angled protectively across his chest, as he slowly rounded the front of the bus, ready to fight whatever was waiting on the other side.

Nothing prepared him for the sight that met him.

The world seemed to freeze as his breath escaped his lungs, his blood turning to ice within his veins as Riptide clattered to his feet. The palms of his hands started to tingle.

The blood red apples and cherries glistened in large wooden buckets, looking perfectly delectable in the ray of sunlight breaching through the clouds as if it was a spotlight only for them. Walnuts and apricots sat farther back, overflowing the boxes placed on tables and tumbling to the ground in delicate pyramids. To the left were jugs of cider, cooling in all too familiar claw-foot tub of ice, condensation swelling over the containers in quenching droplets.

Three old ladies sat in the center of it all, swaying in white rocking chairs. They were mirror images of each other, complete with colorful bandanas protecting white shocks of hair, bony elbows, and bundles of green yarn in a large wicker basket at their feet. The sound of knitting needles clicking against each other was like knives on a cutting part.

Percy wanted to throw up.

How many years had it been since the first time? Five years? He suddenly couldn't remember, his mind foggy.

"Thank god." Chase Brown was walking pass him. "We're not getting any reception out here, maybe they have a-" Percy's mind kicked into gear, his hand snagging the kid's shoulder before he could go across the street.

"Dude," Chase shrugged his hand off, staring at Percy as if he lost his mind. "What's your problem?"

Percy's lips went dry as more kids flooded by, ambling towards the fruit stand. Chase followed, and this time Percy was too confused to stop him. _What the hell-_

"Percy."

Percy startled, flinching at the voice directly in his ear and his arm automatically raising the blade that was no longer in his hand but in his pocket again, before realizing it was only Paul. He turned.

"Can you see the Fruit Stand?" He demanded, his eyes blazing and probably not sounding too sane.

Paul looked at him strangely. "Yes… why wouldn't I?"

Percy glanced back at the students for a long moment as they gathered around the buckets of fruit. "You shouldn't be able to."

He nervously traced the outline of Riptide's pen form through the denim of his jeans, hesitating to follow them. He obviously couldn't leave the kids over there by themselves... but would something happen if he neared _them_? He didn't even know it was actually possible to get near the alleged fruit stand, much less unaware mortals to be able to.

Paul spoke. "Percy, do you know how long you stood in the street? Five minutes! Just staring! I could only keep them in the bus for so long before they got too antsy-"

Percy wasn't paying attention. Julie Marks had plucked an apple from out from the bins and he acted without thinking, sprinting across the street like a mad man and smacking it out of her hand. The apple splattered on the dirt, the ruined edge mushing flatly against the soil. Only seconds later something strange happened - the fruit started to shrivel and brown, slowly to a sickly green mush then to a stiff rotted black. Then it shrunk farther, death consuming it until it was merely dust that scattered in the breeze. Percy swallowed thickly.

Julie scowled at him, rubbing her hand, completely missing the fact that her apple had completed it's entire life cycle within a matter of moments at her feet. "Hey! I was going to pay for it-"

"How are you seeing this?"

"What?"

Percy spun around, his vision flying over the impossible scene unfolding before him. Kids were milling around the tubs of food, some with cell phones in the air, struggling to find reception. Others were horse playing, guys trying to shove each other in the tub of ice. Percy's eyes narrowed on the old ladies.

They were expressionless, no indication that a herd of kids had just invaded their fruit stand or that he was all but three feet away, but just continued knitting with the green yarn, their eyes glassy and dull.

The middle one reached into her bag.

Percy's eyes widened. "Wait-"

The shears were large, rust forming around the screw that held them in place. Wispy swirls were engraved into the metal, traveling over then handles in a morbidly pretty pattern, fine detail that he couldn't see from his first time. A small hysterical part of his mind wondered idly what would happened if he took them and threw them into the forest.

Before the plea could even finish leaving his lips, she snipped the yarn, producing a sharp ring of metal screeching against metal, something that he had only heard once before. Something he had never wanted to hear again.

It jarred him to the very core, his heart leaping to his throat and his muscles tensing as adrenaline entered his system. The sound seemed to catch everyone's attention, fruit and cider dropping to the ground as they turned to them, discomfort and confusion painting their faces.

After an immeasurable moment full of silence, Percy found his voice. "What did… _who_ did you-" He found himself unable to finish the words, his voice thick.

The three merely peered him, their gazes' unwavering, and he was suddenly very afraid.

"Percy." Paul tugged on his arm. "What is going on?"

Percy faced him, staring at the older man's face, trying to process everything running through his head. At Paul's expression, he wondered what his own looked like. "Percy." He prompted again.

"The Mist…" Percy didn't realize he was speaking, an odd quality tainting his voice. "I think the Mist is failing."


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: Well I am immensely surprised at such the positive feedback just for the first chapter. Thank you all who faved, followed, and reviewed, everything was very appreciated and really contributed to the making of this chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I was sort of solidifying a firmer outline to the story._

_To answer a few questions:_

_-No, I do not have a weekly publish routine. Sorry, but I don't really set publish dates, I'm not good with time requirements._

_-Yes, this fic will be including other characters from the series._

_I really didn't like writing this chapter because it's really just an information dump and I feel like the ending is so over dramatized but with out much farther ado, chapter 2. R&amp;R_

* * *

To put it bluntly, things were going to shit.

And Percy honestly should have expected it because his life can only go on for so long with out everything blowing up in his face.

He wasn't sure what the events that went down at the fruit stand meant exactly but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't good. Not even touching the subject of the old women, a matter he pointedly forbid himself from thinking too far into, the fact his classmates and step-father were seeing through the mist was enough to send a permeant icy chill trickling down his spine. But the urgent phone call Paul received from his mother mere minutes after, saying that Percy was direly needed at camp, was just the emphatic icing on top of the proverbial cake.

And that was all before the hand burst through the roof of the Prius trying to slash his neck open.

Percy let out a loud string of curses that would have made Annabeth slap him up the head if she were there as the car swerved wildly. The empousa used his face as an anchor, clenching his jaw in a death-grip with her elbow, her razor sharp nails digging painfully into the flesh of his cheek as she let out a piercing wail.

How the empousa got on top of a car going fifty miles per hour in the first place was a mystery to him. Percy could only guess that she jumped from the surrounding expanse of forest, using the trees for leverage.

"_Perseus Jackson_."

A crack of lightning illuminated the dark of night for the slightest of moments, and he managed to catch a glimpse of her gnarled face in the left side mirror, her lips curling into a nasty grin. Her nails dug farther into his skin and beetles of blood dripped from his chin to his shirt, a hiss of pain escaping his lips. A fire hydrant exploded 200 feet down the road.

"_You will d-_"

Percy slammed on the breaks.

The empousa shrieked as she flew over head, her fiery hair like an arrow of light streaking through the dark. Her now severed arm crumbled to a chunky mustard-colored dust and rained over him as she splattered onto the asphalt in a jagged heap of flesh, fire, and bone.

Percy didn't waste a moment to shift gears.

Gasping wildly from the initial panic, he slammed on the gas and the car shot forward again. The Prius jolted slightly, a cloud of dust flashing in the car's headlights, and the empousa was out of her misery, the only sign she ever existed a hole in the ceiling.

His palms started to tingle and his right index finger twitched but he ignored it, tightening his grip over the steering wheel and directing his stare firmly to the road. Camp was too close for him to lose it now.

It wasn't long before Thalia's pine came into sight, looming proudly above the other trees on the hill, Peleus curled around the trunk. Letting out a low sigh of relief, he slowed the Prius to stop, parking it at the base of the hill.

Percy started up the slope, a gust of cool wind tugging at his hair and clothes, the grass rustling in the breeze. He crossed his arms.

Another peel of lightning cracked and thunder faithfully followed. It hadn't rained yet, but Percy could feel it far above him, the droplets swarming like angry bees in a hive, ready to release it's destruction on the world below them. It was only a matter of time, and a small part of him was involuntarily exhilarated at the thought.

"Peleus." Percy patted the dragon's snout as he passed. "How's it goin' bud?"

Peleus snorted happily.

"That's good."

"Percy!"

He spun on his heel, his lips forming a small unintentional smile at the voice.

Annabeth was jogging towards him, clad in jeans and a vastly over sized rain jacket, the long curls of her ponytail bouncing with every step. The handle of a dagger flashed from her right boot in the torch light.

Percy's grin faded.

Her face was casted darkly, her brow furrowed in barely concealed worry, skin pale in the flashes of lightning. The grays of her eyes swirled with the undertones of panic. Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

As soon as she reached him, Annabeth tackled him in a hug and his arms came up automatically as she buried her face into his chest. Despite of everything, he couldn't help but smile a bit in satisfaction - He had grown since the last time he'd seen her, the top of her head maybe brushing his chin.

When she pulled back he pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.

"How long have you been in town?"

"Just a couple days, Chiron called me in. I tried IMing you but it didn't work." Annabeth shook her head and a stray curl slipped out of her band. She the took a moment to focus on his face, her eyes as sharp as ever as she inspected his injured cheek. "Your cheek-"

"Oh you know." Percy grinned impishly and shrugged in gesture like,_ what can you do?_ "Just your everyday empousa attack, no biggy."

Annabeth picked a chunk of munster dust out of his hair. "You might want to put some water on that."

Percy smirked and beckoned the dew from the grass with a small twist of his wrist, swirling the droplets into a small disk of water the size of a compass. He showed her the disk with exaggerated emphasis then pressed it to his cheek with his right palm - It wouldn't be enough to heal the gashes completely, but would get rid of the blood and any infection that had set in. Annabeth merely rolled her eyes and muttered something about show-offs under her breath.

She shifted her weight and he could see the storm cloud settling back over her, the serious tone coming back to light. "Do you know about the meeting?"

"Yeah, Chiron called my mom earlier."

"Did he tell you it was about the-"

"The mist." He finished for her, nodding. Silently, he debated whether or not to disclose the events of his afternoon to her, about what happened on his field trip - No. He wasn't ready to accept the implications himself much less discuss it with anyone else. That can of words would be much better left closed.

Annabeth let out a heavy sigh and brushed monster dust off his shoulder in a nearly affectionate motion before snaking her arms around his neck for another hug. Percy held her tight, pressing his nose to the crown of her head and inhaling deeply. She smelled like strawberries, earthly with just the hint of rain - the homey, welcoming scent of Camp-Half Blood.

She spoke softly. "How have you been?"

Unintentionally, he stiffened at the question, his hands clenching into tight fists on her back and the moment was ruined.

Annabeth pulled back, not far enough to break the embrace but just the necessary space to peer up at his face.. She laid a questioning palm to his uninjured cheek, worry painting her features once more and he he hated himself for being the source of it. "Are you alright?"

It was much easier to lie during Iris Messaging where she couldn't see the way his hands trembled out of view. Where she couldn't be there to see him on his weak moments. Where she couldn't see the panic over take him.

The truth bubbled to lips.

"Of course."

His smile was fake and he knew it. He knew that she knew it too but he couldn't tell her the truth. Not with the memory haunting him constantly.

"Percy, if something is wrong then-"

He cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to her own.

She first froze in shock then, to his immense surprise, complied, languidly wounding her arms around his neck and rising to the balls of her feet as the tips of her fingers tangled into the hair that met the nape of his neck, her lips parting softly.

Percy only wasted a brief moment thanking the gods that Annabeth did not majorly kick his ass for that move before pulling her closer, pressing one hand to the small of her back, the other other spanning into her ponytail.

The kiss was soft and sweet, slow-building, and he tried to ignore the rotten feeling that was a thick black mud in his heart every time he lied to her.

Peleus snorted, the breeze tugged at their clothing, and they broke apart.

"Don't think this conversation is over." The reprimanding effect of her words were somewhat ruined by the breathlessness of her tone, something he pointed out to her with smugness he didn't really try hiding.

"Oh shut up." Annabeth huffed, crossed her arms, and stalked down the hill towards the Big House. "We have a meeting we're late to." She called over her shoulder and Percy hurried after her.

* * *

Jason and Piper greeted him with a one armed hug and tackle respectively. When they asked him how he was he didn't make the same mistake he did with Annabeth and answered smoothly, unfaltering. Nico Di Angelo gave a decidedly cheerful wave from his corner of the room, sitting next to Will Solace and appearing heaps happier and healthier than the last time Percy had seem him. The Stolls' stole his wallet and Clarisse punched him shoulder, asking if he fell down the hill in reference to the claw marks dragging down his cheek, which Percy supposed was a show of affection from the three of them. Chiron patted his shoulder in a proud fatherly manner and remarked at how much he had grown, which Percy will admit might have boosted his ego a bit. Annabeth had rolled her eyes and told him to stop preening. The rest of the counselors all nodded and waved in respectful acknowledgement, Dionysus nowhere in sight.

But the happy atmosphere of greetings and reunions was soon over and a heavy weight settled back over the room, a grim reminder of the manner at hand.

Chiron raised a silencing palm. "There have been many rumors floating around camp regarding the Mist and I've gathered you here to address them."

News travels fast in camp, gossip even faster, but for information to spread around the entire camp, it takes time. For rumors to have started about the Mist and thoroughly circulated, the cause of the rumors would have to had happen long before his spectacle at the fruit stand. Percy wondered how long this problem had really been going on for - and how long he had been oblivious to it. For everyone in camp to be so involved in the matter already was worrying.

Then again, he was oblivious to most things.

"Four months ago the goddess Hecate went missing. Now this wasn't much cause of worry then. Gods will often hide away for extended periods of time and when you are immortal, time is flimsy.

"But her half mortal descendants in both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter felt unease. They both agreed there was a shift in their magic, and consequently the Mist but no quest could be enlisted with the spirit of Delphi still unfound."

Percy's thoughts flew to Hazel. She was without a doubt one of the strongest mist manipulating and magic yielding demigods alive, both domains covered by Hecate. Surely she would have told him if something was wrong. Maybe because she wasn't directly related to Hecate she wasn't able to feel the change?

"Thanks to the efforts of Nico Di Angelo, Will Solace, and Rachel Dare we were able to restore the spirit back to Ms. Dare two months ago."

A loud smattering of applause rippled through the room, the Stolls cheering loudly and inappropriately. Clarisse clapped a congratulatory hand on Nico's shoulder and by the way the blood drained from his face, it felt a lot worse than it looked.

Percy wondered briefly where his red headed friend was. He turned to Annabeth and she mouthed something incomprehensible to him. Chiron continued.

"But no prophecy was given to guide us to the whereabouts of Hecate."

Annabeth clenched his hand harder from beneath the ping pong table top.

"Two months ago we realized what was happening. Hecate was dying."

There was a long moment of thick silence as if everyone were waiting for Chiron to go _Psyke! _and then room exploded into a cacophony of voices.

_"__That's _impossible_-"_

_"__Gods don't die-"_

_"__What happen to that whole speech about Western Civilization-"_

_"__I thought gods fade if anything-"_

Percy tried to process the implications of that sentence. _Dying. A god dying. _But the idea was too foreign, too strange, and he shivered at the thought. A memory came to mind - Pan, he had faded, but the process had taken centuries hadn't it? Had the satyrs felt a difference throughout the process as well, or were they too far in denial to admit it?

He faced Annabeth, pressing his lips to her ear. "Did you know?"

She nodded, her face tight and whispered. "Chiron told me yesterday."

The man in question sighed heavily, his features set with fatigue and raised his hand once again. "Silence!"

The voices turned to murmurs then died out.

"We didn't know what was happening at first. More mortals were starting to see the monsters behind the mist, but the majority wasn't, so we assumed that a more perceptive age was dawning for the mortals. But then the numbers rocketed, nearly doubling in size."

Percy found his voice. "Wait."

All gazes cut to him.

"You said this happened two months ago. But don't you think we'd hear more about it? I mean, if mortals were really seeing monsters don't you think there would be way more talk?"

Chiron smiled grimly. "There has been."

Percy's eyebrows rose, and he tried to sound like he wasn't as surprised as he was. "Really?"

Travis gasped dramatically, his hands flying into the air as he gaped at Chiron incredulously. "You don't mean that you're telling me that all of this shit about UFOs and alien sightings on the news is… this?"

Chiron nodded solemnly and the Stolls' promptly broke out into boisterous laughter.

Will slapped them both up the head with a ping pong paddle.

"It's funny!" Connor defended.

A small part of Percy had to agree that it was. He vaguely remembered seeing more talk on the news about little green men - there had been more sightings, more interviews, more staticky videos and fuzzy pictures of vaguely humanoid creatures floating around media outlets. He even remembered passing one homeless man on his way to school ranting on about how he had seen an alien with one eye smack in the middle of his face. _Cyclops._ Percy knew what he was referring to now, and suddenly all of the unclear pictures and videos he had seen could pass for the monsters he fought on an everyday basis.

But still... _aliens_? Even _he_ could have come up with something more plausible than that. But on some weird level he supposed it was logical. When confronted with the unknown label it with the most known unknown, right?

"It only got worse when time went on, and we came to three possibilities. The first - Hecate was actively allowing the mortals to see through the Mist and had gone into hiding to avoid backlash. Dismissing the inexplicable reasoning for such an action altogether, it still didn't explain why she blocked all forms of magic, especially from her children. Then there was the second option, that she had lost control of her powers - extremely rare, but still possible. Yet if that had been the case, we concluded that she would've come to her children to induct a quest to find them-"

"Lost control?" The words slipped from Percy's lips without thinking, barely a whisper but Chiron still caught it.

The centaur shrugged noncommittally. "Perhaps that was a poor choice of words. She is not loosing the ability to control her powers as per say but is actually loosing her powers altogether." His tone was casual, but there was a certain shrewdness behind his eyes as he glanced over Percy "But to loose complete control over your powers itself, except in times of strong emotion or dire need, is unheard of. For gods at least."

A deep weight settled in Percy's stomach.

"That leaves us with the final and most plausible possibility, she is dying, and thus the Mist and magic is dying with her."

Chiron's words echoed with a finality that left them all in stupefied silence, trying to shift through the load of information with some sense of reason. Percy couldn't form a coherent thought.

Piper spoke, her soft tone easily breaking the stillness of the room. "So, what happens now?"

"With no prophecy to help us find Hecate, we prepare for the mortals to become aware again."

Clarisse flew to her feet, her chair clattering to the floor, her face red. Percy recognized her stance immediately - it was the one she often used when she was preparing for battle, shoulders back, knees bent, standing tall. "How can you say it so simply?!"

Chiron raised a brow and opened his mouth to speak but Clarisse had gained the stage now, all attention flying to her.

"It won't be so easy as it was in ancient times! We're not going to able to glide right into society with open arms you know!"

Annabeth stood too, bristling in defense of her mentor. "He's not saying that it will be! You know that Clarisse!"

But Percy had he feeling it wasn't Chiron Clarisse was mad at.

"Think about what this means! Think about every religion this will contradict, all of the science that will be rewritten, all the _hatred_ it will bring. Think about what this means for us! Monsters will attack us and _them_ openly now. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be around _that_ kid that attracts every monster within 200 miles."

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose and Percy caught a glimpse of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Then we'll have kids move solely to the camps if it needs to be."

Clarisse wasn't done. "And what about their families? Going to pack them up and move them too?"

Percy's breath left him as an icy hand trailed down his spine, goose bumps erupting with the chilling panic that consumed him. He didn't want to imagine his parents ever being in danger because of him. Just his very existence was enough to put them in harm's way far too much to comfort, but to uproot their lives because of him - that was too much.

But people do terrifying things when they are terrified, and he knows what needs to be done.

"What if someone finds Hecate before she dies?" Percy didn't realize he was moving before he was already on his feet. Chiron didn't seem too surprised at his outburst.

"No telling. At this moment, if our assumptions are correct, she may be to far into the process of dying for her to be saved and with Ms. Dare away with her family, we have no starting point."

"That can be it!" The water bottle on the table exploded and someone cried out, but Percy was too far gone to care. "There has to be something we can do! I'll do it myself if I have-"

"Percy-"

His palms started to tingle. "I'll hunt her down and-"

"_Percy!_"

_"__What!" _He growled and instantly regretted it. Annabeth cringed ever so slightly away, that look in her eye for the smallest of seconds, and his heart plummeted to his shoes.

"Annabeth, I-"

She merely shook her head and raised a pointed finger to the middle of the table, a strange expression etched into her face. Percy made a sound of confusion in the back of his throat then he followed her gaze.

His eyes widened.

The water hadn't splattered over everything in an eruption of liquid like he had assumed, instead it froze into a long jagged cylinder of ice with razor sharp edges that glinted keenly in the light. The ice sprouted upward about two feet before the tip curved downward in a pointed spike, creating an appearance of a deadly cane of ice.

"Woah." Jason reached forward and carefully poked the solidified liquid. The bottle swayed precariously, the ice flashing in the caught light and then settled, perfectly balanced. "How long have you been able to do that, man?"

Percy answered without thinking. "I didn't know I could."

"You didn't know you could freeze water until this very moment?" Annabeth murmured, her tone soft but her eyes sharp.

Static buzzed beneath the skin of his palms. "N-No."

Her head tilted, and a calculating light caught her eyes. It was the same look she wore when she was thinking hard or making connections - a mask of concentration. Maybe he was overreacting or putting to much thought behind her words. Or maybe it was just the combination of harrowing events that had happened that day were finally taking it's toll but either way, he knew she was getting close and his body reacted accordingly to the new onslaught of adrenaline, the tingling rapidly spreading of his hand to his arms, his lungs tightening. Percy was suffocating and she was unknowingly tip-toeing on the border of the secret he was desperately trying to hide.

It was starting again - the awareness, the perceptiveness. On the edges of the circle were the nature and mechanics being colored in and if he stayed to much longer it would be too late. He desperately need a distraction so he did the only thing he could do and spun on his heel and fled.

* * *

Annabeth found him standing knee-deep in the creek, the boundary line in capture the flag, his face titled upward towards the sky, eyes closed, a gesture of peaceful waiting. The rain was thriving behind the clouds, itching to pour down. Any second now.

"Why did you run?"

Percy didn't open his eyes or turn to face her. He couldn't answer, positive everything would flood out the second he opened his mouth.

"You've been acting so strange today, you know you can talk to me right?" Her voice had a certain undertone he _really_ didn't like so he resigned to one truth. "It really wasn't that _big _of deal, but then you looked like you were going to get sick and-"

"I saw the Fates today."

She paused, and he could feel her steps stumble lightly within the water of the creek.

"That Fates?" Her voice was an octave higher, something he would've found funny if not for the situation.

Percy opened his eyes. "Yup."

"They cut the string?"

He looked back at her. The only source of light was the small lantern in her hand, but it was just enough to illuminate her face. Her ponytail had loosened greatly, long curls swaying to each puff of breath through parted lips. He was confused to why she looked so tired and it took him a second to remember that the water did not rejuvenate her from the long trek out into the middle of the forest like it did for him. He returned his gaze to the sky.

"Yes."

Annabeth was silent for a long moment, too long of a moment, then she continued forward, coming to stand beside him.

"It's probably not even yours." Her tone was dismissive, airy, forcefully casual. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him. "I mean, it was Luke's last time and-"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Another pause. "What?"

"That it's not my string." He gazed down at her face, her eyes the darkest of grays and inhaled deeply, drinking her in. "But it's someone else's."

Then the sky opened up around them and the rain poured down.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Thank you all who faved, followed, and reviewed this story. It is greatly appreciated and really contributes to the making of this story. Onto chapter 3._

* * *

Percy let out a low groan as the alarms went off, all of the overhead lights snapping on in one blinding flash. Other groggy sounds of discontentment met his ears and there was the collective sound of shifting, rustling blankets.

"We got it, we got it, we're up!"

A kid was yelling and Percy didn't have to open his eyes to know it was Benjamin. His profanities could almost be timed along with the alarms and lights that snapped on at exactly six a.m. As soon as they came, obscenities were being screamed into the walls no less than two minutes later. He could almost _hear_ the kid shaking his fist in the air.

The alarm proceeded to blare three more times, then quieted into a much awaited quietness. Another alarm would follow five minutes later, but that was merely a different type of alarm, one that had conditioned them to be well awake before _they_ arrived.

"Come on L, you know the Warden will be here soon, best you get up before then."

Percy mumbled a curse under his breath and pealed the covers away from his eyes. Oliver 's head was peering at him from the bunk above, his lips curved into a wide toothless smile.

"Give me a minute O, I was dreaming." Percy closed his eyes and hid his grin behind the covers. As expected, the bunk shook with tell-tale signs of someone clambering down, and he could feel Oliver's stare boring into his face, nasty child morning breath wafting to his nose.

A small hand prodded his shoulder and Percy let out a deep fake snore.

"You're not sleeping!" Oliver snorted. "I don't believe it for a second, L."

Percy opened his eyes and grinned impishly around his yawn. "You got me there, O."

Percy patted the kid's head as he shifted to a sitting position, his bare feet meeting the cool concrete flooring. Oliver was the youngest of them there, only six years old - as he would tell anyone that came within a five mile radius - and probably had the biggest heart to boot.

"Yo H!" Percy called to the kid on top of the bunk nearest to the door. Henry glanced back at him, his pallid face set into a gaunt mold, lips thin, eyes hollow. He was the oldest one there besides Percy himself, and despite Henry's disclosed countenance they had come to a somewhat mutual understanding of each other.

Percy knocked a series of beats on the metal beam of his bunk - This was a form of private communication, something the younger kids had chalked up to them being weird

_Were any taken?_

In return, Henry knocked back a short set against the wall and Percy let out a sigh of relief.

_None._

Oliver tugged on his shoulder insistently, demanding his attention back. "L! L! I had a weird dream last night."

Percy grinned as he stood, stretching his limbs and popping his knuckles in attempt to shake of his drowsiness. "Did you?"

"Yeah, I was at some weird place. And I could actually read the sign!"

Percy made his way toward the front of the bunk, Oliver hot at his heels, and went to his designated position. Most of the other kids were scrambling to the lines too - the second alarm would be going off any second now and this was how they expected them to be when they walked through the door.

Oliver rocked on his heels, his excitement nearly tangible. "It was so cool there! They had a volcano that people were _climbing_ on and flying horses and a purple bonfire!"

Something clicked in his Percy's head, something that was a distant faraway memory, and he peered down at the kid beside him. _Could he have really…_

"O, this place… what did the sign say?"

A look of deep concentration passed over the kid's face and he tapped a pondering finger to his chin. "Something funny. I think it said-"

The second set of alarms came to life, cutting off whatever Oliver was trying to say.

"What!?" Percy yelled, cupping a hand around his ear and ducking down to hear the kid better.

"I said _Camp Half-Blood!_"

A different alarm sounded, a different lower sort of buzz, and just as the door opened, did everything start to melt.

Like water on a painted canvas, Oliver, Henry, Benjamin, the kids, everything was being dissolved, the blinding cleanly white of the room dribbling into a red tinged darkness, screams echoing in the distance. The last thing Percy saw before the bright room was completely stripped away was a sign on the wall-

_"__I can't see!"_

Percy whirled around, his heart beating wildly, eyes searching desperately, but all that met him was fire. More and more fire, the flames towering far above him in green, sickly-sweet smelling plumes.

The screaming was growing louder too, begging and pleading like knives in his head. He clenched his eyes shut and pressed his hands to his ears, pressing as hard as he could as if he could get his skull to concave because anything would be better, but he stopped because _she_ was screaming as well. S_he's blind and she can't see and she needs help and I'm utterly useless._

Percy suddenly started to choke, unable to breath. It wasn't the smoke, but something else else entirely. Something that was writhing up from his stomach.

He collapsed to his knees, bracing his hands on the human like soil and convulsed violently. It was like razor blades tearing up the insides of him stomach - slicing and lodging into his throat and mouth, his gums stinging, and then it was expelled.

Blood. Dark and thick, splashing onto his hands and clothing in a wet splatter of red.

Then came the glass.

Broken bits and pieces the size of quarters tinkled into the ever-growing pile of crimson stained shards. One particularly large sliver cut a burning path up the lining of his throat before it was imbedded into the roof of his mouth, blocking the retch like a broken damn.

He coughed harder, trying to force air into his lungs, but the world was rapidly growing black, the green fire turning to a dim glow.

He faded into the darkness, drowning as she was still screaming.

Percy woke from his nightmare with a choked yell, hands flying to his throat as his body jolted forward, his back ramrod straight. His eyes were saucers, trying to adjust to the near pitch darkness of his cabin as he gasped for air that would't meet his lungs. The tingling was already past his elbows.

His eyes flew to his right, searching, and illuminated by a flash of lightning, she was there, curled warmly into his side, blonde curls splayed across his pillow. Her breathing was even, her features serene, and he let out a sigh of relief - both for the reassurance that his nightmare was only that, a nightmare. And for the fact that her night seemed much more calmer, more peaceful than his was, no signs of her own demons battling across her face.

He reached out to Annabeth, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She wrinkled her nose at the disturbance, murmured, but did not wake. He then snatched his wrist watch from the night stand, squinted at the dimly lit screen, and managed to make out the time.

_4:34 A.M._

Percy sighed heavily and shifted his feet to the cool floor, rubbing his face tiredly. There was no chance of further sleep for him that night. Not with screaming. Not with the blood. Not with the rain thriving outside his cabin.

But the first dream - hazy through the fog of sleep and terror of the later nightmare, was definitely strange, something off about the entire situation, even for a demigod dream. Even for one of _his_ dreams. The details were fuzzy at best and only one particular conversation stood out. One with a kid with a toothless smile and dark complexion… _Oscar? Owen?_

"Oliver." Percy spoke out loud, half hoping that if it was in the air and out of his head more would come to mind. But he still didn't remember much, besides the fact the kid dreamt of Camp Half-Blood.

Another detail came to light and he quickly opened the drawer of the nightstand, digging for a notepad and pen. The sign from the wall was fresh in his eyes, albeit horribly disarranged by his dyslexia, but at the very least was something.

He scrawled the letters out.

_Anointment Tunic._

Percy scowled at the notepad, something telling him that those were most likely_ not_ the words on the wall. Reading and writing was definitely not his strong suit much less solving the anagrams of dyslexia. He would wait later, until Annabeth was up. His eyes glanced over to her sleeping form. Then again, he thought wryly, her dyslexia was almost as bad as his.

He ripped the page from the notepad, shoving it roughly into the back pocket of his jeans, an idea coming to mind. He laid the notepad and pen back in the drawer as he shifted to his feet, careful not to wake Annabeth. His heart was still beating fast, his palms still tingling, but he ignored it, stretching his arms before grabbing a shirt from the floor. After a quick sniff, he shrugged it on and continued to the door of his cabin.

He stepped out into the weather, allowing the torrential downpour of water to seep through his defenses. It was chillingly cold to the bone and he was drenched within seconds, his clothes plastered to skin and hair a black mop on his face. But jittery ants of adrenaline were writhing through his body, his muscles tensing.

Storms were rousing, exhilarating, powerful. And Percy suddenly felt like he could take on a horde of monsters single handedly four times over. The closest feeling he could compare it to was the curse of Achilles, a similar blood lust running through his veins.

But the fact that the storm was breaching the weather defenses of Camp Half-Blood was more than enough to damper that perspective. Hazardous weather in Camp Half-Blood was a dreadfully obvious statement that things were _very_ wrong and would most definitely get worse. And the fact that the storm had never lessoned during the days since the meeting was no farther consultation.

Urging for the piece of paper to stay dry he started his jog up to the Big House. From the distance he knew Chiron had to be up - light was streaming brightly through the windows and from his angle he could see just the edge of a figure sitting at the end of the round table, safe and dry in the haven of the roofed porch.

Percy neared the corner of the Big House and slowly came to a halt at the sight.

Chiron was sitting the farthest from his position, oddly enough in wheel chair form and a worry line in his brow. But that wasn't the only anomaly of the image

At the other end were two people he had never seen - A man, he guessed to be in his late twenties or earlier thirties, with dirty blond hair, highly arched eyebrows, slightly pointed ears, and a trouble maker smile. All attributes easily recognizable and identifiable as a Hermes' kid.

The women, on the other hand, was not so easily placed. She appeared to be a little older than the man, her auburn hair pulled into a loose bun, her face angular. She had a kind welcoming smile and an easing misdemeanor that reminded him of his mother in a strange way. Maybe Hecate? Percy couldn't decide.

Chiron was speaking. "The Romans are sending representatives over as we speak and-"

"Hey you!"

Percy startled, stumbling back in surprise just as a strong grip clamped down on his arms. Two guys the size of bulls were bearing down on him, all muscle and mass, mirror images of each other with buzz cut hair, round faces, and blaring nostrils. They were decked out in matching midnight black suits, beads of rain swelling over the rims of their sunglasses. The only noticeable difference between the two were their ethnicities - one black, one white - other than that they were practically twins, blaring nostrils and all.

They started to drag Percy forward, their grips painfully tight and jerky movements unforgiving, and with a flash of annoyance, his gut tugged automatically. The water enriched in their suits hardened, the density increasing dramatically to a point that it was nearly a solid, and they were tugged off him, flying back into the mud without so much of a second thought. Percy eyes widened and his stomach tightened but no time was given to rally any form of control.

"Percy!"

Chiron spoke cheerfully enough, beckoning him forward with a welcoming hand, but something was off about his tone. It came to Percy immediately - It was the same tone he used as Mr. Brunner on teacher evaluation days when he begged the class not to act out in front of the board members. The _control yourself and act like you know even the bare minimum of proper conduct and manners just for the next hour so I don't get fired _look.

A peal of lightning clashed and Percy cleared his throat awkwardly in form of greeting, aware of the sudden scrutiny the two strangers had him under. Their stares were uncomfortably deep, sharp and calculating, as if they were trying to pry his personality from his body language. His eyes flickered to the duo then back to Chiron, his unspoken question lingering in the air.

"Ah, yes. Percy this is -"

The man with the dirty blonde hair interjected then, holding out his hand to Percy, lips quirking and tone pleasant. "Theo Rucker, son of Hermes."

Percy forced his lips into a polite grin as he shook hands with the man, ignoring the heightened prickled sensation at human contact. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

Theo's brow furrowed ever so slightly. Whether it was because of his taboo heritage or because he knew anything of his reputation, Percy didn't know, but either way, the man didn't comment.

The auburn haired woman offered her hand next. "Dr. Jossa." She grinned wittily. "Mortal."

Percy arched an eyebrow in slight surprise. Mortals, he knew, were a very rare thing to see within the borders of Camp Half-Blood. Aside from the occasional parent visit and particular huntresses of Artemis, Percy could count the number of mortals that have been inside the camp on one hand, at least those of which he knew of. May Castellan, Rachel Dare, a very confused Pizza delivery guy, and the previous mummified Oracle. And the latter, if you could really consider her human, was dead most of her stay.

Percy peered closer at the strangers. If he had learned anything since his introduction to the mythological world, it was that appearances were deceiving and to be honest, the two didn't look like much. But, as proven time and time again, the Fates lived to prove him wrong.

Dr. Jossa threw a thumb over her shoulder. "And those two are Des and Jes. Also mortals." Percy flicked a half wave at the duo and they scowled in return, their dark suits lathered in a goopy sand.

A silence swept over them and an awkward feeling clenched Percy's ribs. It was more than just the awkwardness of first meetings and being at a lost of words. No. He had intruded on something important. Despite their mostly amiable greeting, he could taste the poorly hid tension in the air, tightly wound and ready to snap.

Chiron raised a brow. "Was there something you needed, Percy?"

Percy's eyes darted to Dr. Jossa and Theo then back to Chiron, hoping the message was clear. He had wanted to catch the centaur when he was alone but that was no longer part of the equation.

"It was nothing, couldn't sleep. Sorry that I interrupted, I'm just going to head back to my cabin." Percy turned to go back into the rain, but Dr. Jossa held up her hand.

"Wait. It's Percy, right?"

He nodded.

"I was actually hoping I could talk to you for a moment. That was an impressive display of powers earlier." She motioned to Des and Jes, who were hovering over Theo and her like a pair of over-grown vultures, their faces stony.

Percy scratched the nape of his neck, perplexed at the odd request. "Well, uh, I guess."

Theo scoffed around a smile, shaking his head. "Ignore her. She just has an obsession with demigod abilities."

"Guilty as charged." She held up her hands, palms outward, as she stood from her chair. "I'm sure you can handle the rest of this, Theo?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Dr. Jossa shook her head, her lips forming an exasperated grin, then nodded politely to the centaur. "Chiron."

He bowed his head. "Dr. Jossa."

The auburn haired woman then beckoned to Percy, already disappearing around the corner. "Come on."

Percy shot one last look to Chiron, a parting glance, and scrambled after her.

She lead him around to the other side of the Big House, safe under the roof of the wrap around porch. Out of the corner of his eye, Percy caught Des slipping silently away from Jes, the man following a good fifteen paces behind them, a silent shadow.

"Uh…"

Dr. Jossa followed his gaze. "Oh, don't mind him, he's only doing his job."

Percy cleared his throat. "Which is…?"

"He's a body guard."

Percy squinted back at the burly man. "Huh."

She came to a stop as they neared a set of chairs, but instead of sitting down like he assumed they would, she made her way to the railing of the fenced porch, pausing to glance into the dark morning. The beginning of a dark blue dawn was starting to dilute the blackness of the sky, eating away at the storm.

She was quiet for a long moment, eyes closed as if she were listening to the rain, then spoke. "Percy have you ever heard of the Maya Organizations?"

He shrugged, racking his brain. "Um, like the ancient Mayans?"

"No." Dr. Jossa smiled like he said something funny. "Maya is a mortal organization for helping demigods."

"Oh." Percy frowned. He was positive he had never heard of them before, not even from Annabeth, who seemed to know a little bit of everything.

She must have read his clueless expression because she continued. "It's okay, I didn't think you would know about us. Only a select few do. But with this whole problem with the mist-"

He connected the dots quickly. "You know about what's happening?"

"Yes." She nodded solemnly. "Maya is a division under the government assigned to keep everything mythological under wraps from the American republic and with the Mist dissipating… we've been called in. Well, Chiron did to be more specific."

"Chiron…" Something she said clicked and Percy's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. "Wait, you mean the government knows about the gods and-"

"Percy, I'm not sure if you noticed, but the gods aren't known for their subtlety." She waved a hand towards him. "I bet a powerful demigod like yourself has made more than a few messes along the way. Things like that just don't disappear overnight."

He had the good grace to flush at the jab before continuing. "But the Mist takes care of hiding things like that-"

"Yes." She agreed, glancing back at him, eyes sharp. "It _did_. You could convince a hundred people that an explosion never happened with the Mist. But that doesn't erase any damages events like that cause."

Percy shook his head, sighing deeply. "I'm not following."

Dr. Jossa paused, a look of concentration gracing her face, then spoke. "Okay. Let's say that you're at school and a monster attacks. What do you think happens?"

"Well," He started, "There would be a lot of panic, kids would be yelling and screaming which would make it harder to kill the monster. Then, depending on how easy it goes down, there could be some damage to the school."

"Precisely." She nodded. "A few broken lockers, desks and chairs being thrown, fire and poison damage, maybe even a hole in the wall. But what happens next?"

He shrugged, coming forward to lean against the railing.

"Kids are going to talk about what they saw, despite how much the Mist clouded their sight. Parents are going to worry about the safety of their children, they want to know what happened to the school. Then the police get involved, and then the media."

"But that's when you manipulate the Mist to create a fake story." Percy interjected. "Maybe a deranged person with a flame thrower broke into the school. Maybe you just pass it off as school driving you crazy to the point of a maniacal rampage. Everyone moves on."

Dr. Jossa shook her head, bun flopping. "It's not that easy. You can construct whatever story you want but someone always has to take the blame. The damage to property can't always be explained away with the Mist. That's where Maya comes to focus."

Her hands curled around the railing of the as she peered out at the beginning of an orange sun peaking above the horizon. "We fix the property and the damage of monster attacks. We erase some police reports so the demigod doesn't end up going to jail. We get rid of files and records that come from previous schools that make it hard for you guys to transfer. We feed lies to the media so any unwanted attention will be turned. We keep mortals away. We keep you guys hidden."

Percy was at a lost of words, his face a blank slab of awed features. "So let me get this straight." He pointed to her. "Maya is a mortal, secret organization that basically helps keep anything of the mythological sort hidden?" It was an absurdly strange notion - mortals protecting demigods instead of the other way around. Almost humorous in an unhumorous sense.

Dr. Jossa cocked her head, contemplating his words, tapping a finger to her chin. "Well, yes, that's the gist of it. But we do more than just protection."

"Like…?"

"Like we study the history of demigods, gods, and monsters. We're trying to find out more about your origins and genetics. We're trying to find out what makes monsters attracted to you, why using technology is like sending off a signal, why you have dyslexia and ADHD. It's really quite interesting." She seemed to grow more animated as she spoke, her eyes lighting up with fascination, smile broadening. "I'm the head doctor of the biological studies division."

"And Theo?"

"Theo is the current president of Maya, he oversees all the divisions."

Percy let out a low whistle, a little surprised. "Wow. He seems kinda…" He searched for the right word. "Young."

Dr. Jossa flicked her fingers as her lips formed a cat like grin. "Better not let him hear you say that." She then settled back against the railing, her tone coming to a more serious light. "Despite being a mostly mortal organization, most of our presidents have been demigods as they can understand both sides of the coin and base their decisions of of that. Theo is young, but he's smart and is one of our best leaders."

On her last word, a beam of first sunlight breached through the clouds, illuminating the misty ground in a grey light. The heavy rained had thinned from downpour to trickle, and Percy was grateful for that. The energy of this rain was just light enough that he might be able to catch some sleep - It was like the swarming bees had finally settled back into the hive with only the occasional burst of subtle activity. The tingling drained from his arms like a pulled plug.

"And now, with the everything happening with the Mist, we're going to make sure you guys are going to be fine." Her tone was soft, reassuring, and Percy was once again reminded of his mother. She had the same nuances, same inflections of her tone. "That you guys can glide back into society smoothly."

She glanced down at her watch. "Damn. I really wanted to talk to you about your abilities. I've heard that children of the big three are extremely powerful."

Theo's voice sounded from behind Percy, a set of light footsteps and creaking wheels making their way down the old groaning wood. "You can pester him about it later, Doc, but we need to prepare to brief headquarters."

Dr. Jossa waved him off. "No need to remind me."

She turned to Percy, straightening out her white lab coat and tugging her bun firm, then held out her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, I do hope we can talk more in the future."

Percy nodded. "Of course."

Theo smiled to Chiron. "We'll we back in a few days with a few more representatives of our own, it was great seeing you again… although I wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"I'm afraid I have to agree Theodore." Chiron sighed heavily through his own smile, and it took Percy a second to realize from the familiarity of their words that this was not the first time Chiron interacted with Maya. That something must have happened before for Chiron to utilize their services. Only for what was the question.

Percy stepped back to fall in line with Chiron as the duo spoke their final farewells, then they started off towards Thalia's Pine, Jes and Des lumbering behind them.

Percy and Chiron stood in contemplative silence. His mind tried to filter and sort through all the events that had happened over the past week, but it was too much to intake, too heavy to think about. A burst of cool morning air tousled his hair, and the chimes on the porch sang into the breeze.

Percy found his voice. "It's really happening, huh?"

Chiron didn't reply, instead shifted in his wheelchair, his hand digging for something. He lifted his hand, revealing a piece of crumpled note book paper clenched between his fingers.

"My paper-" Despite it being in front of his face, Percy still checked his pocket for the rectangular imprint. His fingers came up empty.

"I assume this is what you wanted to talk to me about?"

Percy snatched the wadded ball, unfurling the bent edges. "Yeah, I had a dream and these words were on this wall…"

"And you couldn't read them?"

Percy nodded. He wasn't sure when Chiron had done it, but the words were rewritten again and again down the page, the letters scrambled around into other forms of nonsense. Only one of the lines were circled.

"Containment Unit." Chiron murmured. "That was the only combination that made any semblance of sense."

Percy swallowed thickly, trying to apply this new bit of information to his dream. Were those kids stuck there? Were they criminals? None of this seemed like hardened thugs, maybe juvenile delinquents if anything.

"Chiron."

The centaur raised a prompting brow.

"These people… _Maya_… how long have they been around?"

"More than half a century. Ever since the end of World War II and the big three pact was made. There had been too many displays of power, too many events for the Mist to erase, so Maya was born to help cover our tracks." Chiron scratched his beard, paying great attention to the rain outside of the porch.

"Do you-"

The conch horn sounded then, blaring off from one of the watch posts within the trees and cutting of his next question. Both sets of eyes focused on the crest of Half-Blood Hill, and mere moments later a smudge of purple appeared. A flag was held high and the sound of marching footsteps carried over the hill, mixed in with the clanking of armor against armor. She appeared like true royalty on her horse, sitting lean and tall, her dark braid swept over her shoulder.

Reyna shouted, and the large group halted immediately, waiting for her next command.

The romans had arrived.

* * *

_This chapter concludes the needed information for the plot line and we can finally get to the grit of the story which I am immensely excited for. Any thoughts?_


	4. Chapter 4

Closing his eyes, Percy inhaled slowly, deeply, and the tide lapped past his ankles in a foamy rush of chilling water. He paused for a moment then, holding in the breath and drinking in the energy, letting it soothe the buzz beneath his skin into a dim tingle. A moment of calm passed, his mind clearing, and he finally released the breath, the water receding as he succeeded the tide's control back to the ocean's natural rhythm.

Chiron and Reyna had been in the Big House for over an hour and while Percy knew he would have been welcomed into the meeting both as a camp counselor and leader, he embraced the remaining three hours before classes started as a well needed breather. Besides, there wound't be anything said between the two that Percy hadn't heard three times over, and on the off chance there was, he would find out later during the announcements at the pavilion.

And so, Percy found himself wandering after he left the porch of the Big House.

Frank had not joined the roman's excursion and instead remained back at Camp Jupiter as the only other Praetor to watch over things. To his disappointment, Percy could not find Hazel among the ranks either and as an alternative to going back to his nightmares, he continued walking, no real destination in mind. Figures a son of Poseidon would end up at the beach.

He inhaled again, the ocean swelling to mimic his movements, paused as the water refreshed him, then exhaled. It was a calming repetition, a natural cleansing motion that was refreshing, something akin to meditation.

_Breathe in._

The water swirled around his feet.

_Breathe out._

The swell withdrew back to the ocean.

_Pull._

A wave of smooth energy relaxed him.

_Push-_

_"__Percy!"_

His eyes flash opened as his concentration broke, the ocean rushing back as if repelled, his head whipping around in disbelief.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood no farther than ten feet away from him, arms waving madly and red hair flying in the wind like a flame. Her clothes were strange - generic white tank top and pants - but her voice was even stranger. It was almost like she was talking through a phone with bad reception, only every other chopped word coming through, even though Percy could clearly tell by her body language that she was yelling.

"Rachel? What's going on?" He started towards her and if anything she seemed to get even angrier, huffing in exasperation.

"Go- My- You need- Importa- Dang-"

She was pointing, jabbing her her finger furiously into the air at the forest.

"You want me to go into the forest?"

Rachel slapped her hand to her forehead. "Idiot."

Percy ignored the jab. "I thought you were in the Bahamas."

"I-"

"Percy."

He turned again at the familiar voice. Annabeth stood at the border of the sand and grass, wrapped in one of his jackets. Percy glanced back at the redhead, but to his surprise she gone. It was as if she were never even there, not even a footprint in the sand to mark her existence.

Confusion plucked at his head, and he rubbed his eyes roughly - Still gone.

"Annabeth, did you or did you not see Rachel standing there?"

"Rachel? You do realize that she's on a cruise right?"

A slight coldness broke in his stomach. "So you didn't see…"

Percy trailed off as he took farther notice of Annabeth's appearance. She was pale, face gaunt and eyes hollow, her arms rapped around her torso as if she was holding herself together. He recognized the stance immediately - She had a nightmare.

It took him two seconds to stride over to her and pull her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. She shuddered once and he pressed his hand to the nape of her neck.

"Hey." He spoke softly, soothingly. "It's okay."

"I know… it just felt real and when I woke up you weren't there and I-"

"I'm sorry, I should have told you where I was going." Guilt hung heavy over him, and almost as if Annabeth could sense it, she pulled back a bit, placing a hand on his cheek.

"It's fine, Percy."

Her eyes met his and he found himself thinking back to the aftermath of the war. The nightmares had been a constant then, and they weren't able to close their eyes without being back in that place. It had taken months for the onslaught of dreams to lessen, and even then the intensity never wavered. And as easy as it was to stay in the comfort that was each other, life had other ideas.

They needed to go back to school unless accepting expulsion, and while they had originally planned to go to Goode High with each other, Annabeth wanted to see her family. Percy couldn't find it in himself to blame her - he desperately missed his mother as well.

The first month apart had been the hardest, but with the help of Iris Messaging, as little as it was, and frequent visiting, the nightmares became somewhat tolerable for lack of choice and better word. The rate of dreams lessened slightly over the following months, and why he would like to say it was becoming easier, it wasn't.

They coped though, finding other outlets than each other - Annabeth threw herself into her schooling and the redesigning of olympus while Percy purchased a punching bag. Just when things were turning to some semblance of normalcy did _it_ start to happen… the perceptiveness.

Percy forced a smile to his face. "Sit with me?"

Annabeth mustered up a grin. "Of course."

They drifted back towards the ocean, nearing the crest of the tide and sitting in the sand where the water could rise to meet them, barely grazing their toes before receding. She threaded her fingers through his, leaning against his chest as the breeze blew salt into their faces.

It was a nice feeling - comfortable, the kind that made your muscles loose and worries forgotten.

Annbeth picked up a small shell with her free hand, contemplating it, before tossing it out to the sea. "I think I'm going to stay here… you know, when the Mist is completely down."

Percy arched a brow. "Like at Camp Half-Blood?"

"No," She shook her head. "In New York. I don't want any of this to be easily connected to my family."

"Do you really think mortals will react that badly?"

Annabeth focused on the horizon, searching for the right words. "Mankind has had a long history of reacting badly to change… to difference. Less then sixty years ago, people of different races couldn't drink from the same fountain. Today, people of different sexualities can be legally denied basic rights. And while it would be nice and dandy for us to be welcomed with open arms, the odds aren't in our favor."

Percy remembered back to what Clarisse said during the counselor meeting- about how many regions the Greek gods coming to light would negate - and he suddenly had a deeper understanding of what she was saying.

Percy turned to Annabeth and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, letting his fingers trail softly over the angle of her cheek before coming rest on her pulse point. "But do _you_ think they will accept us?"

She reached up with her own hand then, pressing his palm more surely against her skin. Her eyes almost had a wry look behind them. "Do you?"

He didn't have to answer.

* * *

Friday was the pinnacle of events for Camp Half-Blood. The entire place seemed to buzz with a quick tempo of nervous energy, the bonfire a soft yellow that trembled like static. Not only was tonight capture the flag, but the Maya organization was returning this afternoon, to explain the process of integrating half-bloods into mortal society and the expected due date of complete Mist disintegration.

The conch horn signaling lunch blew in the distance and Percy, capping riptide and murmuring a quick goodbye to Piper, made his way over to the Arts and Crafts center, where Annabeth would no doubt be finishing up her class there.

He met her outside the door, pecking her quickly on her cheek as he draped an arm around her shoulder. Her own hand went to the small of his back - it was no longer sensitive as it once was but the motion still brought an involuntary shiver up his spine. She didn't bother hiding her smirk as they made their way to the dining pavilion.

It was crowded to say the least. The rebuilding project after the great prophecy had to be put on hold as the threat of a new war loomed over them, and with fifty or so romans added to the bunch, it didn't exactly leave much for breathing room.

But if there was ever a perk to being the solitary demigod son of poseidon, it was the table he had to himself.

Jabbing his way past a couple of Hermes's kids, Percy tugged Annabeth to the bench of his table just as Chiron clomped his hoof to grab everyone's attention, the cacophony of voices dwindling to silence.

"Demigods, before lunch commences there are important matters that need to be discussed." Chiron's voice reverberated loudly across the pavilion. "It is no secret that the Mist is failing - a fact that is unavoidable and unchangeable. Mortals will become exposed to _our _world and to all the occupants it houses."

Murmurs started to rise, but he held up his hand, quelling the words before they could grow.

"This has been a stressing time for everyone but we are not alone in this." Chiron beckoned forward and Percy recognized the blond man coming to the podium as Theo. "This is Theo Rucker, and he will be helping us, _all_ of us, for the duration and aftermath of the mixing of the mortal and immortal worlds."

Theo took Chiron's place at the podium, clearing his throat before speaking in a clear voice. "In five days, the Mist will be no more."

Percy's gripped the edge of his seat, knuckles stretching starkly against his skin. Whispers were breaking out around him, and couldn't help bet share a worried glance with the girl beside him, his quiet sentiments matching her own.

Theo started once more. "I'm not if any of you have heard of the Maya Organization…"

Percy tuned out of the speech, having heard the similar rendition of the Maya Organization from Dr. Jossa. Instead he focused on Annabeth, murmuring quietly to her. "Did you know about them?"

She nodded softly, whispering back. "Chiron had told be me about them, long before you even came to camp."

That didn't surprise Percy - Annabeth had always had a close relationship with Chiron. The centaur had stood as her father figure for many years while she was young and those bonds never wavered as she grew and reconciled with her real dad. Instead they only seemed to strengthen overtime.

Percy directed his eyes back to Theo, and for the barest of seconds there seemed to be a pop of red flashing behind his shoulder, gone as soon as it came. Percy's brow furrowed, but the conversation soon pulled his attention away from the anomaly before he could investigate any farther.

"This week, I will be meeting for several interviews on popular News Station and Television programs. I'm going to try to explain this world… _our _world to the best of my ability. Let it be clear, there will be no records open to the public of who and who is not of godly heritage. The only way a mortal will ever find out you are half god is if you tell them."

The words sent a soft flow of relief over Percy, and he found himself releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. It wasn't much, but a sense of anonymity was a great defense to be left at their disposal and much better then the alternative.

"Building on that." Theo continued. "The camp locations will not be disclosed and as far as the public eye knows, these camps do not even exist."

Armor and a safe house. Percy couldn't help but grin at the thought.

"If you have anymore questions, you can come and meet with me after the meeting concludes. I will also be leaving Maya Organization pamphlets at the Big House - Inside there is a phone number for headquarters, a hotline if you need hep, an address for a division of Maya found in New York, and addresses for all the safe houses in the state of New York. Reyna?"

Theo motioned to the podium and Reyna strode up to the stand, her chin held high and voice strong. "Camp Jupiter is offering housing for all mortal families of demigods in need of protection. If anyone needs the help, there will always be room available."

Her head bowed on her final statement, and Reyna returned to her seat next to Theo, Chiron coming back into focus. The centaur held his hand up and stomped his hoof once more - the motion signifying the end of the meeting. "Keep your heads high, heroes. We must be strong during the time to come."

With that, he gestured with an open palm to the stone steps and wood nymphs came to view, streaming into the pavilion presenting platters with heaps steaming food. "And now, we eat."

Percy's own plate was filled to the brim with an assortment of meats and fruits, but it remained untouched throughout the course of the meal, a certain queasiness already filling this stomach. The camp had regained some of it's spunk, but the usual lively chattered was weighed with stony glances and worried whispers.

_Five days._

He tried to wrap his mind around the idea, but the notion was already being forgotten as his hands started to tremble with that certain anxiety, that certain energy, and he couldn't help but think it was getting worse.

Usually he could get through a couple of days, maybe even a week if he were lucky, before the perceptiveness would happen. Now he was lucky to get a few hours in between.

The tingling spread well past his elbows and he sucked in a deep breath, forcing his mind to not notice how the waves crashed against the shore or how the creek was constantly moving miles away in the woods. How the leaves and grass swayed in the lulling breeze or how the trees thrummed with lively energy. How the ring of his sensitivity was slowly spreading, reaching farther and farther out, or how it was being filled in quicker than ever before.

The center of absence was shrinking, pressing closer, _suffocating_ him. It was already reaching the edge of the pavilion, the sound, the _feel_ of-

_"Stop."_

Percy slammed his hands to the table, his growl of frustration ripping softly from his lips as drinks sloshed heavily within their cups.

The new sense of stinging pain in his palms overpowered the energy, his mind dominated by a sense of anger, and the sensitivity drained from him like a pull plugged, the perceptiveness shrinking back like shadows from a flame.

Annabeth eyes burned into the side of his face and, luckily or unluckily, no else seemed to notice the display.

He wiped sweat roughly from his brow, not bothering glancing at her prompting expression. "What?"

She arched an eyebrow. "The table moved four inches."

He swallowed thickly. "Is that so?"

She made a humming sound of disapproval in the back of her throat, and he could tell by the way her back stiffened that this conversation wasn't over. Percy knew that capture the flag wouldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Zues, Athena, Ares, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus, along with the children of minor gods and goddesses were red team, while Poseidon, Hades, Hermes, Demeter, and Dionysus, played blue. The romans were divided evenly to either side.

They make a point of trying to separate Children of the big three since they're so powerful and overtip the scale when they all end up on one side. When there is an uneven amount of them, on nights such as these, whichever team gets only one kid ends up with the stronger of cabins.

Percy ended up stationed at the creek, right along the boundary line.

Surprise, surprise.

It was quiet, and the night had eaten away the dying brightness of day quickly, only the single torch bolted to the tree left to illuminate his surroundings.

The blue team strategy was fairly simple - station demigods and traps all along the boundary line, coercing anyone who had the flag to have to cross the creek, and subsequently Percy. Everyone else was scouting for the flag, and quickly too, because any team that had Jason was tough to beat since the guy could literally fly over their heads and back in no time at all.

But Nico was a formidable foe as well since he could pop anywhere and back instantaneously, especially efficient on dark nights like these. The only problem for the son of Hades was actually finding the flag.

"Boo."

Percy twisted to his left, stalking forward, blade raised - only to come to stop as he recognized the figure as Nico leaning against a tree.

"Oh." Percy relaxed his stance, noticing the son of hades's empty hands. "No flag?"

Nico shook his head, a somewhat affectionate smile crossing his face. "Reyna's got it, she's battling it out right now back at the red team's base."

Reyna and Nico had the strangest friendship Percy had seen - a sibling like bond that he could only assume had formed over the time they spent transporting the statue of Athena together.

"Shouldn't you be helping her out?"

"Reyna?" Nico raised a brow. "You know she's got it. In fact, I'd think that she'd fight _me_ if I tried to helped her."  
They both cracked a grin.

"Besides, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Percy scraped the dirt off the edge of his sword on his sandal. "Sure, what's up?"

"I saw you, you know, today at lunch."

"Um, yeah? I saw you too… we eat lunch at the same time."

"No." Nico slapped a hand to his forehead, sighing. "No, I mean you looked like you were going to be sick."

Percy's stomach clenched but his face remained neutral as he forced a grin to his face. "Oh yeah, I wasn't feeling well."

Nico didn't look too impressed. "And last week? When you froze that water?"

"What about it?"

Nico sighed again, tiredly, as if he was struggling with the best way of breaching the subject then spoke timidly, carefully, as if approaching a startled animal. "Percy… listen. I think I know what's going on… and I know it has something to do with Tartar-"

Reyna burst through the clearing, nearly fifty feet from the two of them, flag in hand and dashing madly for the creek. Only seconds later did the crowd of red helmeted demigods run out behind her.

The blue team trickled from the surrounding trees like swarming ants from a stepped on hill, ready to attack and defend. The two teams converged in the middle, and Reyna was lost almost immediately in the midst of battling demigods.

Percy fixed his stance, facing the oncoming battle and dodging the fart arrow lodged his way, Anaklusmos raised.

"Don't think this is over." Nico warned as he disappeared in an a cloud of inky tendrils, only to reappear just moments after in the middle of the battle, whirling his blade like a demon. Percy kept his eyes peeled, searching for Reyna in the screaming mass of weapons, curses, and demigods, but she remained unseen.

"Percy."

The voice was impossible to miss, sweet and syrupy like a song of a siren. He stumbled in the water of creek, coherent thought and will crumbling as he turned to meet the speaker.

Piper stood at the far edge of the creek opposite of the fight, her hands held up in surrender.

"You don't want to fight Percy. In fact you are so tired. Very, very tired."

Percy's sword splashed in the water. She was right - his eyes were drooping, his arms felt like lead. In fact, it was amazing how he was even standing under the weight of his exhaustion.

"That's right." She spoke so softly, so quietly, and despite the battle no less then twenty feet away from him, it was all he could hear. "You just want to sleep."

Percy nodded lazily in agreement, sinking to his knees. Just as he was about to lay down did something catch his eye - a figure weaving impossibly fast though trees, their feet not even touching the ground… almost as if it were flying.

His eyes shot open.

_Flying. Jason. Capture the Flag._

Just as the son of Jupiter was about to pass the boundary, flag in hand, and grin triumph did Percy let out a defiant yell, his hands swinging forward in a harsh shove and the creek erupted.

A jet of water blasted Jason out of the air and into the nearest tree, pinning him to the trunk. Strangely, the water lightened in color, forming intricate swirls of whites and light blues, a cracking sound echoing the movement and only a moment too late did Percy realize what had happened… what _he_ had done.

"You _froze_ me?" Jason sounded like he couldn't decide if he was angry, shocked, or in awe over the fact. "Dude, you froze me to a tree! A tree!"

"Huh." Percy cocked his head to mimic Jason's upside down position.

"You froze him." Piper breathed.

"He froze me!"

"I froze him." Percy agreed, a bit appalled himself.

"Would you pay attention!" Percy turned just in time to see Reyna dashing towards the creek, scuffed up and a cut on her cheek, yet still finding time to roll her eyes at the three of them. Glancing slightly above her shoulder he recognized Annabeth, dagger drawn and hot at her heels.

Then it happened.

A young girl from the sidelines with a blue plumed helmet two sizes too big launched a small, shiny, black ball into the air. It arched over the groups, glinting keenly in the torch light, before exploding at Annabeth's feet. The daughter of Athena came to a grinding halt as a misty cloud of darkness surrounded her ankles, inky tendrils of shadows curling around her calves and snaking up her body.

Reyna splashed into the creek, running the last couple of feet before leaping onto their territory, pumping the flag triumphantly in the air as the blue team erupted into cheers and hollers.

_"I can't see!"_

And Percy was back in Tartarus, his skin boiling and heart in his ears, surrounded by plumes of green fire, sickly sweet poison, and a cackling goddess. Annabeth scratched desperately at her eyes, the tendrils of black mist bleeding into them.

_"I can't see!"_

_ He's choking, the poison is drowning him, and she's screaming-_

"What have you done!?"

Percy had the girl by the arm, the creek is trembling dangerously, violently, and he's shaking her-

No, the ground was shaking and the girl was staring with him with wide eyes, lips parted, a look of fear forming-

_"What did you do?!"_

"I- I-"

Water erupted around him, thousands of gallons swirling, pulsing, forming into a funnel far above them.

"It- It's magic- Temporary- It just blinds you're opponent for a few s-seconds." Tears were beading along the little girl's lower lashes, but he's too far gone to care. Fury was boiling in his veins and he wanted the Goddess of Misery to feel _his_ misery but then he realized that someone was pulling on his arm, tugging, calling his name desperately.

"Percy! Percy! I'm fine! We're _not_ there!"

And then she's there. Annabeth. She had a cut across her forehead and her hair was a tangled mess of gold but most importantly her eyes are clear. Clear and seeing.

"Annabeth." He said her name softly, and then, slowly, it came back to him.

They were at Camp Half-Blood.

_He_ was at Camp Half-Blood.

They were safe.

_She_ was safe.

The water splashed back into the creek.

He dropped the girl's hand, and she scrambled away, visibly shaken, and all he wanted to do was throw up, his heart throbbing in his ears. His breath was coming in through shorts gasps, his chest clenching, burning.

"I-I'm sorry." He breathed, pressing his palms to his eyes. "I'm sorry."

The expressions he received were varying. Some were filled with sadness, some pitying, some understanding, but the majority were frighteningly easy to identify - fear.

And then he caught Nico di Angelo's gaze. It was not a mix of any - no fear, no pity. No. It was one of understanding. One of someone who knew the truth.

* * *

_Author's note: Well, with summer vacation here I can finally continue this story. If you haven't realized, this story is going to deal a lot with the affects of tartarus on both Annabeth and Percy. Don't be afraid to tell me if I need to tone it down a bit, lord knows I'm so overdoing this. R &amp; R._


End file.
